Solon wants anti-drunk driving laws to cover even ‘tipsy’ drivers

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MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña is pushing to amend the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10586) to prohibit car drivers and motorcycle riders from driving even if they are merely “tipsy” or have consumed small amounts of alcohol.

In an online interview with reporters on Friday, Cendaña said he filed House Bill 11220 — or the proposed Anti-Impaired Driving Act of 2024 — as RA No. 10586 seems to focus on drunk driving, or intoxicated drivers already on the road.

However, Cendaña’s bill proposes random analysis of drivers through breathalyzers at toll booths and, possibly, outside areas where alcoholic beverages are sold — as some drivers would only need small amounts of alcohol in their blood to be impaired.

“Because based on our current laws, RA No. 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drunk Driving Act of 2013, the emphasis seems to be on drunk driving. But we saw that you do not have to be so drunk for you to be impaired as a driver. So we said, maybe we need to decrease the threshold in terms of alcohol consumption,” he said.

“Even if someone is just tipsy, driving should be prohibited.  Because we saw that in the past,  for so many years, almost a third of road-related accidents — that’s one-third which means three out of 10 road-related accidents — result in death because the discussion is about severe drunkenness or intoxication,” he added.

According to Cendaña, he only wants to ensure the safety of motorists and even the commuting public, especially during this holiday season, when Christmas celebrations and year-end revelries usually feature alcoholic beverages.

“So, with this proposed bill, we want even those who are just tipsy to be restricted from driving so that we can ensure the safety of our drivers and other people on our roads. Because we want everyone to get to their homes safely,” he said.

“The bill wants to ensure the safety of everyone — from drivers, commuters, and other people on our roads.  And this is timely because this Christmas season, we know that there are a lot of Christmas parties, many would join drinking parties from now up to the New Year, so I hope people would be cautious enough in driving, so that they can go home to their families in one piece,” he added.

Under the proposed law, Section 9 of RA No. 10586 will be amended to ensure that both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) acquire and maintain an adequate amount of breathalyzers so that these can be distributed to deputized officers nationwide.

Both PNP and LTO must submit an annual report to Congress on how many breathalyzers were acquired and how these were distributed across regions.

Also, Section 10 of RA No. 10586 will be amended to include toll operators, local traffic officers, and even a designated local unit as deputized officers in implementing the law.

Cendaña said that the metrics that would classify impaired drivers would be widened so that tipsy motorists would be barred from driving.  Regarding how “tipsy” can be measured, the lawmaker said that this is something that experts would have to study.

“Usually before, the basis of our law enforcers’ judgment is that drivers would not be allowed to drive if they can no longer stand, if their speech is slurred, if they cannot walk — basically intoxicated.  But based on studies, even those who are tipsy only, they become relaxed than usual, and sometimes their capacity, mobility, and skills are impaired,” he noted.

“This is something that has to be determined, which our experts should focus on.  But generally, the 0.05 blood alcohol concentration, generally across different areas in the world, that’s what is within legal limits. So anything with an above 0.05 blood alcohol concentration should not be allowed to drive,” he added.

READ: Stiffer penalties for drunk, drugged drivers pushed

Data from Cendaña showed that from 2015 to 2019, 5,213 deaths out of the 18,735 deaths from road crashes in the Philippines were deemed alcohol-related.

Last May, a 54-year-old man crashed his pickup truck into a store and house in Lower Busay, Cebu City.  No one died from the incident but the driver was deemed drunk.

In the same month, a motorcycle back-rider died after the bike rider crashed into a concrete road barrier in Tayabas City, Quezon province.  The motorcycle driver was said to be drunk also.

Due to the high number of drunk driving-related accidents, several lawmakers have pushed for amendments to RA No. 10586. Last December 10, Anakalusugan Rep. Ray Reyes filed HB No. 11187 which will amend the law into the Anti-Impaired Driving Act.